Wii U: first hands-on with Nintendo's new console

[mattx]

Wii U: first hands-on with Nintendo's new console | Technology | guardian.co.uk

[AyatollahPies]

That first image looks like Link has just got a starring role in Gears of War 3

[MK-2]

That first image looks like Link has just got a starring role in Gears of War 3

 

The last demo was blandly entitled HD Experience, but it will excite Nintendo fanboys. It was essentially a cut-scene depicting what a Zelda game would look like on Wii U set in a huge, gothic interior, with Link taking on a giant spider-boss.

 

To be honest I love the ideas Nintendo are having. Let's be honest when the Wii came out, most people dismissed it as a rubbish way to play games. People want to sit down with a controller not move about. Yet a few years later Sony and MS both follow suit and release something similar.

Hopefully it will be the same with this; people will think its just an ugly oversized tablet but the games Nintendo bring out will change things again

[kevbaz]

I just dont get it, i watched the conference and there was no mention of a console as such, just this wii u controller, it looked to me as though it connected to your existing Wii. no new console just this fancy controller come portable gaming device.

 

wasnt impressed to be honest, it was one of the ropeiest presentations ive seen at e3 and thats saying something, and sure the Wii U has a couple of funky features but i just dont get it.

[MK-2]

I just dont get it, i watched the conference and there was no mention of a console as such, just this wii u controller, it looked to me as though it connected to your existing Wii. no new console just this fancy controller come portable gaming device.

 

wasnt impressed to be honest, it was one of the ropeiest presentations ive seen at e3 and thats saying something, and sure the Wii U has a couple of funky features but i just dont get it.

 

from the article:

Wii U itself, although apparently hooked up to a big screen, initially remained concealed – indeed, the console remained a shadowy presence throughout, partly hidden in a cupboard. What we could see of it resembled a slightly more rounded Wii, but in truth, it looked like a prototype not yet given the benefit of an industrial designer.

 

the console itself will run in full HD, via HDMI, but the touchscreen isn't HD. The console has internal Flash memory which can be augmented with "SD Card or USB solutions". It will play optical disks and downloadable content, and will be backwards-compatible with Wii software. And it will launch some time between 1 April and 31 December 2012.

 

probably in the same way the wii was more about the wiimote than the console itself. why focus on the box doing the work when they are probably basing projected sales on people interested in the gadgetry accompanying it

[kevbaz]

just shows what a bad presentation it was, wheres the tech spec of the box? can it play dvds?

 

i liked that they stressed all the games on it are only concept and dont actually exist..

[kevbaz]

Launches:

2012

 

Size:

Approximately 1.8 inches tall, 6.8 inches wide and 10.5 inches long.

 

New Controller:

The new controller incorporates a 6.2-inch, 16:9 touch screen and traditional button controls, including two analog Circle Pads. This combination removes the traditional barriers between games, players and the TV by creating a second window into the video game world. The rechargeable controller includes a Power button, Home button, +Control Pad, A/B/X/Y buttons, L/R buttons and ZL/ZR buttons. It includes a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope, rumble feature, camera, a microphone, stereo speakers, a sensor strip and a stylus.

 

Other Controls:

Up to four Wii Remote™ (or Wii Remote Plus) controllers can be connected at once. The new console supports all Wii™ controllers and input devices, including the Nunchuk™ controller, Classic ControllerTM, Classic Controller ProTM and Wii Balance Board™.

 

Media:

A single self-loading media bay will play 12-centimeter proprietary high-density optical discs for the new console, as well as 12-centimeter Wii optical discs.

 

Video Output:

Supports 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i. Compatible cables include HDMI, component, S-video and composite.

 

Audio Output:

Uses AV Multi Out connector. Six-channel PCM linear output through HDMI.

 

Storage:

The console will have internal flash memory, as well as the option to expand its memory using either an SD memory card or an external USB hard disk drive.

 

CPU:

IBM Power®-based multi-core microprocessor.

 

Other:

Four USB 2.0 connector slots are included. The new console is backward compatible with Wii games and Wii accessories.

 

 

http://e3.nintendo.com/_ui/img/hw/playstyle/hardware/1.jpg

 

http://e3.nintendo.com/_ui/img/hw/playstyle/hardware/3.jpg

[MK-2]

i liked that they stressed all the games on it are only concept and dont actually exist..

 

its a year and a half from being released, so i'm guessing a lot of stuff will be concept or alpha.

i dont get the big concern over tech specs? finding out it will do full HD was a big enough factor. nintendo have always seemed to be more about the user experience in a game than just pumping out beautiful looking but gameplay wise rubbish games.

[Arthur]

A single self-loading media bay will play 12-centimeter proprietary high-density optical discs for the new console

The rumours were true then. The Wii U must be using 25GB proprietary optical discs to get around paying Blu-Ray licensing fees.

[kevbaz]

its a year and a half from being released, so i'm guessing a lot of stuff will be concept or alpha.

i dont get the big concern over tech specs? finding out it will do full HD was a big enough factor. nintendo have always seemed to be more about the user experience in a game than just pumping out beautiful looking but gameplay wise rubbish games.

 

 

So your happy to buy kit not knowing whats under the hood?

[JJonas]

Tweople were say last night it was a naming fail. The addition of a 'u' to the name does not distinguish it as a whole new console. I watched the presentation last night and spent most of it thinking they were plugging a new controller for the Wii rather than a whole new system, and how much is it?

[sonofsanta]

I dunno about this yet. On the one hand, I want to point at the Wii and the DS and say "people said they were rubbish, and they were brilliant!". But then I remember seeing the Wii announcement, and instantly being excited/fascinated by it, and this time round, I'm just... not. It's early days though, and there's a lot of reading between the lines - I mean, as far as I can tell there'll only actually be one of these new controllers per console, as they only ever refer to it in the singular. It'll save money on buying extra controllers (they can't be cheap) but it makes it more of a gimmick.

 

And the problem with Nintendo gimmicks is that only Nintendo ever use them well.

[JJonas]

And lets not forget the most important question.....

 

 

Will it blend?

[sonofsanta]

Tweople were say last night it was a naming fail.

 

It's an awful name, and it's not like Wii was brilliant anyway, we're just used to it from over-exposure. But Wii U? All I can think of when I say it is a 4 year old boy running round the living room pretending to be a police car, "WII U WII U WII U!"

[Jawloms]

So your happy to buy kit not knowing whats under the hood?

 

If it does stuff you like and does it well, why does it matter? It's not like a PC where you need to know as you may want to upgrade one day in the future. As has already been mentioned - Nintendo are about how enjoyable the games are, not how many trillion triangles it can draw on the screen at once.

[MK-2]

So your happy to buy kit not knowing whats under the hood?

 

I didn't say that. I'm on about the fact that this is over a year away from even hitting the shops and people want to know what CPU its running and how hot the GPU will run at! If it plays the games you want and you like the look of the graphics, why should it actually matter what GPU is in it?

If the graphics themselves look stunning, does it really matter if its an ATI or NViDIA chipset?

 

And I purchased the original Wii, I still don't know the spec of it and I'm not bothered. It looked fun, was fun and the games played well. I couldn't really care if it was running on a pentium 75 with voodoo graphics, if they have the games running like that, fair play to them

[sonofsanta]

FWIW, it's an IBM PowerPC multi-core and AMD Graphics again, as it needs to be for the backwards compatibility.

 

Source: Strange new Wii U console has AMD graphics - The Tech Report

Edited June 8, 2011 by sonofsanta
multi-core, not quad-core... though it probably will be quad

[JJonas]

Nintendo Network @ E3 2011 - Introducing Wii U

[JJonas]

Hmm Nintendo admits its Wii U highlight reel was spiced up with PS3 and Xbox 360 footage -- Engadget

[CAM]

Oh dear, that's a marketing mess upright there.

 

Regarding the power, the Wii lacks enough under the hood to make it suitable for cross-platform games.Any that do make it over look inferior to their XBox/PS3 counterparts with gimmicky control systems. This will help keep them ahead in the games market.

 

However, lack of DVD capability and the use of proprietary disks is a concern. I also hope their online service grows up a bit as they took child protection systems a bit too far.

[HMCTech]

Wii was cheap which was why it was a great success. I can see this being quite expensive, or certainly expensive to use at a party trying to get four of those controllers.

[sonofsanta]

Wii was cheap which was why it was a great success. I can see this being quite expensive, or certainly expensive to use at a party trying to get four of those controllers.

 

I reckons it'll be limited to one fancy controller per console... apart from the cost of buying that many controllers, the machine would have to be much more powerful to render content for 5 separate screens. They've never shown more than one new controller in use at a time, always one + 4 Wii remotes, and they keep referring to "the" new controller rather than "a" new controller.

[Jawloms]

Well you'll all be pleased to hear you can pre-order yours now! LOL

 

Wii U Console Games Consoles | Zavvi.com